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Daily Archives: April 23, 2009

Matt Hagen, Jason Blecher, Josh Pressley and Casey Cahill — all of whom were Atlantic League All-Stars last season — pose with the championship trophy. (Andrew Miller/Staff photographer)

By RYAN DUNLEAVY

STAFF WRITER

Someone alert Disney and Vegas.

One or the other should hit it big this summer off the Somerset Patriots, who are placing their 2008 fairy-tale ending – the championship-clinching walkoff home run – on the line by employing one of the riskiest strategies in the entertainment world.

They’re making a sequel.

The boldness of the decision is unquestioned considering the long line of predecessors that have failed in similar attempts.

Forget “Caddyshack II” and just look at the 11-year history of the Atlantic League where only one defending champion has returned to the playoffs since 2000. And, more importantly, no team ever has repeated.

With 14 cast members from last season set to renew their roles, the Patriots are looking to succeed at what has thus far proved to be an impossible mission.

“You want to repeat as champions, not repeat history,” Patriots president and general manager Patrick McVerry said. “That was a concern as we went down the roster, but the guys we brought back are the guys we want. Across the board, they’ve said they want to repeat and I feel very comfortable with this group.”

The plot thickens

Perhaps no one has more experience with the challenge that lies ahead than the director.

Sparky Lyle managed the Patriots to three other championships in – 2001, 2003 and 2005 – only to miss the playoffs each of the subsequent seasons.

As the 2006 season, which produced the third-worst overall record (65-61) in franchise history, dragged on, Lyle suggested that re-signing so many players from the previous year had set a bad tone.

That season the Patriots only had eight players in spring training who were part of the postseason roster. Twelve such holdovers arrived this spring, the same number as in 2002.

So did Lyle forget the past or does he simply recant his words?

Neither, actually.

“Sometimes you say that you’re not going to bring back that many guys but you come to find out that a lot of the new guys you’re looking at aren’t as good as the ones you already have,” Lyle said. “The biggest thing that we as an organization try to do is put a solid nine guys out there. If that means bringing guys back, you bring them back.”

Director of player procurement Brett Jodie’s first step in building the 2009 Patriots was to chat with last season’s players and gauge their perspective on returning.

As a common thread developed among those being questioned, the number of vacant roster spots quickly shrunk.

“We’re not bringing back 14 guys who played for us all year, and in the ones that did you have emotional leaders and leaders on the field,” Jodie said. “I don’t want them back if they’re not here for the right reasons: To play well, win while they’re here and get picked up.”

Second baseman Matt Hagen was not surprised by the large size of the Class of ’08 reunion.

“Look at the character of each guy that’s coming back,” Hagen said. “They’re coming back for a reason and you’ve got to like what they’re bringing to the table. Every guy coming back is a baseball junkie. They’re not there because it’s just something to do. It’s something they love to do.”

The antagonist

The familiar villain in this sequel is undefeated and unintimidated.

In addition to taking down at least two Patriots teams of the past, it recently toppled the 2006 Lancaster Barnstormers.

“Sure, I’ll be looking for complacency,” Lyle said. “I don’t think we have anybody who’s going to be like that, but it will be on my mind. (It becomes a serious problem when) you can’t take the complacency away because you don’t have a better player to put in there.”

Of course, complacency can be viewed more as an individual character flaw than a trend, but there is no refuting its presence in multiple past champions who kept in tact the same nucleus for too long.

“I know the guys coming back are a very proud bunch of guys,” said Josh Pressley, first baseman and reigning Atlantic League Player of the Year. “I don’t foresee that happening. A lot of guys on the team really care a lot about each other. It’s the type of the team where we’re hugging one minute, at each other’s throat the next, and then hugging again. It’s that kind of intensity that I love playing with.”

Pressley, who was released from spring training by the Houston Astros earlier this month, was one of the final players to rejoin the fold but the first to publicly embrace the new hurdle by saying he wanted to be part of the first repeat champion.

Similar words soon dominated the conversations at spring training.

“It would be cool to go back-to-back. That’s our goal,” relief pitcher Casey Cahill said. “I feel like this team is better than the one we had last spring training. I don’t see us being complacent or satisfied with just winning last year . . . We’re focused on now and don’t want to think about last year. If you’re always reflecting back, you can lose focus. We’ll relish it for sure, but there are still a lot of goals we want to accomplish this year.”

Jodie does not doubt that the Patriots’ forerunners shared similar optimism and desires. He does wonder, however, if they had the same means of making it happen as the 2009 version.

“Complacence could also be called “I’m on my last leg of playing,’ ” Jodie said. “I don’t know if it’s being happy with where you are at or seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. In ’06, we had a core group of four or five guys we were counting on to do all the damage. Now I feel like any night any one pitcher could be the stud, any one hitter could be the stud.”

Additional storylines

While the odds say bet against the Patriots, smart money almost never is against Lyle.

Back-to-back titles is one of the few things that has escaped him as he enters his 12th season at the helm with 749 victories, four championships and two Manager of the Year awards.

“We know we’re going to face the toughest (competitors) our opponents have,” Lyle said. “That is why it is so hard to repeat.”

Jeff Nettles, who is back at third base this season for the Patriots, will not be part of the championship ring ceremony, but he has been twice before as a member of the team from 2003-07.

“It doesn’t matter what sport it is, it’s tough to repeat,” Nettles said. “And it’s tough to win in this league. But you can’t compare it to the past. It’s different guys playing against different competition. It’s a different everything. All you know is a good core is back and they’re all of the mind to go back-to-back.”

The last time that the leaders of this bunch set their collective minds to something was early last season when the objective became atoning for loss in the 2007 Atlantic League Championship Series.

That motivating factor has been erased and replaced with the drive to protect what they earned.

“We felt like we were at the top in 2007 and we didn’t close the deal,” said catcher Jason Belcher, one of six players remaining from that postseason. “Now that that’s not there, we want to repeat. That’s our motivation. Everybody understands that in the game of baseball you have to prove yourself every day. To a certain extent, mentally, you’re approach is different when you’re trying to defend a title instead of trying to win one. Everybody is going to be gunning for you.”

It might not feel like a sequel to all the familiar faces, however.

Relief pitchers Travis Minix and Bret Prinz were major parts of last season’s success, but both signed with affiliated organizations before the All-Star break and missed the big celebration.

Joe Burke and Anthony Granato were doused in champagne, but neither truly grasped the road to the destination after being acquired in mid-September.

“I felt like it really wasn’t my championship, it was theirs,” Granato said. “For me, it wouldn’t be like repeating. Winning a championship in baseball is really difficult because so many different things happen and so many things change through the course of the season. When you’re part of it for a whole season, it’s totally different and a greater feeling.”

Enter Disney.

If the Patriots are able to buck the odds and duplicate their success, it will be one of the foremost achievements in league history.

“If somebody wants to put this (season) on a DVD, I’ll put it in my collection, that’s for sure,” said Cahill, owner of more than 300 movies. “I think this is going to be a good one, and I’m excited about it.”

At the plate: Burgamy and Majewski, a product of Rutgers University, earned affiliated contracts out of the Atlantic League last season and are candidates to do so again. For as long as they remain, however, they will will join Walker and Lydon to make up one of the league’s most-complete offensive outfields. The odd man out likely will be the designated hitter. Chiaravalloti is looking to regain his 2007 form. That year he starred for the Road Warriors but he fell out of favor with the Patriots last season despite showing good power. Abernathy spent four seasons in the majors but struggled during a prior 21-game Atlantic League stint. Spivey, a former MLB All-Star, starred for Bridgeport in 2007.

On the hill: Lawrence, the former Met, and Drese provide a 1-2 punch at the top of the starting rotation. Davey and Rodrgiuez, two former major-leaguers, do the same for the relief corps. But depth is a concern in both areas, especially considering neither Brazelton, the third overall pick in the 2001 draft who made the team out of an open tryout, nor Davey has pitched in more than a year. Guerrero and Flannery, Triple-A veterans, return to the bullpen, while Parker, another former Scarlet Knight, has not advanced past Single-A. Poor pitching cost the Riversharks dearly in the 2008 Championship Series.

Scouting report: The Riversharks, who have played more games without winning a championship than any team in Atlantic League history, have been eliminated by the Patriots in the past two postseasons. For the second straight offseason, the team cleaned house, letting most of its top players flee to its rivals. Will the strategy work again? If the newcomers fit Ferguson’s aggressive style, there is no reason to expect a step backward.

At the plate: Two former highly-regarded Atlanta Braves prospects lead this attack. Perry made his major-league debut last season, but only appeared in four games. Herr is a former first-round draft choice who has not played outside of Triple-A since July 2006. Sabatella, 24, could be one of the first players signed if he gets off to a fast start on the heels of two straight impressive independent-league seasons. Biernbaum brings his left-handed power bat from Camden to Clipper Magazine Stadium and its short right-field porch. Turner is a speedster who can play almost anywhere.

On the hill: The Barnstormers stuck with the familiar as four of its projected starters are returnees. Parker isn’t overpowering, but he is worthy of being called an ace and Hall is not too far behind. Scobie, Ackerman and Hodges, who was in Double-A, can be expected to keep the Barnstormers from having to play catch-up, a major problem early in games last season. The bullpen features four lefties, including Camacho, a 26-year-old former Mets prospect whose career statistics are eye-opening. Huber, a former major-leaguer, was cut by the Detroit Tigers during spring training and throws hard enougth to be a lights-out closer.

Scouting report: The fifth-year Barnstormers looked ready to challenge the Patriots as the league’s premier franchise after winning the 2006 championship. But while attendance has remained high, win totals have not. The return of the extremely popular Tom Herr – who managed the team during its best years – as bench coach could provide a spark or could cause friction with Hayes if Lancaster, which is 24 games under .500 since the start of 2007, gets off to another bad start.

At the plate: The lineup looked strong even before the four-day span that changed everything. Two of the most productive bats in league history, Nettles and Pressley, returned less than one week apart and immediately were slotted into the No. 3 and 4 holes, respectively. The speedy Smith will lead off, followed by Hall, a good situation hitter with some pop. Hagen might be the best offensive player on some teams, but because of the surrounding talent he will draw less attention. Nelson adds to the power and Rodriguez brings extra speed and defense. Both catchers and both shortstops bring strong batting averages.

On the hill: With Bouknight, Magrane, Adams, Miller, Gothreaux and Bush, the Patriots have the luxury of an extra starter to overcome that first affiliated signing or injury in early May. Adams was the league’s best pitcher in 2007, and Bouknight might have been during the second half of 2008. For those without long memories, Miller was one of the best for Bridgeport in 2005 and since has been at Triple-A. The Minix-Prinz tandem at the end of games was almost unhittable until the end of May when both pitchers were signed on consecutive days. The next lead they blow will be their first as Patriots. Having only one lefty in the bullpen is a concern.

Scouting report: If history is any indication, the defending champions are set for a disappointing season. The Patriots missed the playoffs in 2002, 2004 and 2006 after winning the title in each of the previous seasons. If paper is any indication, back-to-back crowns could be a possiblity because the team has 15 returning players and depth in its lineup and pitching staff. Lyle said this might be the best team he has ever had in spring training.

At the plate: The projected lineup looks very similar to last year’s version. With Jones and Bautista setting the table for Esquivel, Padgett and Aspito, scoring runs should not be a problem, especially if Aspito can duplicate his Player of the Year-type numbers. Big things are expected from several newcomers, including Golecki and the versatile Eure. There seems to be a wealth of middle infielders. Sandoval and Pinckney have the experience to warrant starting positions, but how will that sit with Atlantic League veterans Bautista and Sandel? Johnson and Taveras are prototypical Atlantic League catchers – good behind the plate but lackluster at it.

On the hill: The Revolution are pinning their hopes on former major-league arms – there are eight on the roster – for the second straight spring. The philosophy backfired last season when the group imploded at the start of the first half, but that is being written off as a fluke and some of the same names are returning. Gassner was the early-season ace before being signed away, and Thurman arguably was the ace down the stretch. Phelps also has the potential to carry a staff. Sharpless, Kershner, Andrade and Bauer bring major-league toughness to the bullpen. Bauer was in the majors with the Cleveland Indians just 10 months ago.

Scouting report: In just their second year as a franchise, the Revolution used a strong second half to reach the playoffs before being swept away in the first round by the Patriots. Now the challenge becomes finding a way to avoid a third straight dreadful first-half performance. Re-siging almost every one of the team’s Most Valuable Player candidates from last season was a good start. Building around pitching wasn’t a bad idea, either.

At the plate: It is like last season never ended. Cznarniecki, a contact hitter who has mostly Double-A experience during a six-year career, and Rogers, a slick fielding former major-leaguer, are the only notable additions to what is basically a roster of holdovers. The good news is the Bluefish had one of the best lineups last season as Hoorelbeke slugged, Mateo ran and Lopez used the gaps to produce runs. Batista put up solid offense numbers in half of a season and Caligiuri has had two straight strong years at the plate but is a defensive liability. Greenberg was picked up after only two weeks with the Bluefish.

On the hill: Reichert would anchore even a good rotation for as long as he is around, which won’t be long if he performs the way he did for Southern Maryland before being signed last season. The problem is Bridgeport has a suspect rotation behind the former major-leaguer, even if Youman improves on his numbers from a year ago with Lancaster. A lot will be asked of the bullpen, which has been remade. Asadoorian, who comes from the Patriots, and newcomers Casey Hoorelbeke, Bray, Cavazos and Yan provide a fresh look. Though he often makes it an adventure, Perez likely will close again – at least until Yan makes his move.

Scouting report: The Bluefish finished under .500 in both halves last season and have not been the annually competitive franchise they once were since losing the 2006 Championship Series. That could change since league CEO Frank Boulton purchased the team during the offseason, and his other franchise, the Ducks, is a perennial winner. Scoring runs will not be a problem, holding other teams down might be as questions abound on the mound and in the field.

At the plate: The Ducks shied away from their annual cast of former major-league All-Stars in favor of picking up other teams’ Atlantic League All-Stars. Davenport (Camden), Prieto (Bridgeport), Gonzalez and Pachot (Newark) all have proven track records. Harris and Navarrete, a Seton Hall University graduate, aren’t big names but have been two of the most productive Ducks during their tenures. Alas, not everything has changed. Wilson was a 2003 MLB All-Star and is attempting a comeback after sitting out 2008, and Ford was once a starter for the Minnesota Twins.

On the hill: Simas saved almost every important victory for the Ducks en route to the 2004 championship, and both team and player are looking to recapture that magic. Ray, who can start or relieve, hasn’t pitched for the Ducks since 2002, but he also returns. It makes sense to start Ray since Valentine, Miceli and Ascencio are quality set-up men in front of Simas. Each member of that quintent has been to the majors. Leek, one of the league’s top pitchers last season, Garcia, acquired via trade from Newark, and newcomers Halsey and Cate combine to form a solid foundation for the rotation. Halsey is a former Yankee.

Scouting report: Credit the Ducks for being daring in the name of winning. After a fourth straight first-round playoff exit, owner Frank Boulton moved Dave LaPoint from the bench to the front office and hired Carter, who is more than just a big name. He has a championship-winning history as a minor-league manager. The roster is still full of former major-leaguers, though there aren’t as many holdovers and the newcomers aren’t true big names.

At the plate: Just imagine a longtime former major-leaguer reduced to an Atlantic League bench player. That’s a reality here, with seven outfielders alone who have reached the bigs. With a home ballpark known as a launching pad and a lineup featuring Herrera, Mateo, Raines Jr., Jimerson, Everett, Ward and Gibbons, the Bears are almost a sure thing to lead the league in most offensive categories. Don’t forget the slugging Batista, either. On second thought, maybe you should. Mateo and Batista are beginning the season on the inactive list, though team officials say they are expected at some point. Jimerson was in the majors last year.

On the hill: Put aside about four hours if you plan to attend a game. As the front office loaded up on hitters, it seems to have overlooked pitching. Komine, a former major-leaguer who racks up strikeouts, and Brownlie, a former Rutgers star, are the only bona fide starters on the roster. Benitez and Foulke were established MLB closers not too long ago, so they should own the eighth and ninth innings. But how many leads will they be protecting if the rest of the staff is shaky? Foulke, who recorded the final out for the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 World Series, lasted only one year in retirement. Pitching has long been the Achilles heel for the Bears, and not much was done to address that weakness.

Scouting report: Move over, Long Island. New ownership has turned Newark into the No. 1 refuge for former major-league stars. The Bears, who won the 2007 championship, had moved away from that strategy in recent years but are back at it the way they were earlier in the decade. The idea is to generate excitement among fans and increase the annual poor attendance figures. Only time will tell if that works, and the same can be said for seeing if egos can be checked in the name of chemistry.
SOUTHERN MARYLAND

At the plate: Osborn, a 2008 Player of the Year candidate, carried the offense for long stretches last season, but Atlantic League veterans Doetsch and Burkhart were added to provide support. Burkhart is coming off a serious injury but has posted big offensive numbers when healthy. He will platoon with Martinez, a Triple-A veteran with a strong bat. Crozier and Owens are capable of bouncing back as both returned to the league last season after stints in affiliated baseball and failed to meet lofty expectations. Shanks brings power while Just offers versatility and speed.

On the hill: Halama, the longtime major-leaguer, was the league’s best pitcher before signing with the Cleveland Indians eight starts into the 2008 season. When he left, Bicondoa and Gannon picked up the slack and helped the Blue Crabs finish with the league’s top ERA. Gannon, a knuckleballer, is the reigning Pitcher of the Year. Plug in Serrano and you have four big-time starters. To sure up a bullpen featuring effective returnees Schweitzer, Blanton and Baugh, the Blue Crabs added a solid lefty (Forrest) and two potential closers (Warden and Crawford). There are several pitchers attemping comebacks from multi-year layoffs who could be wild cards.

Scouting report: The Blue Crabs did not play like an expansion team last season, tying the Patriots for the best overall record despite missing the playoffs. There is a long list of Atlantic League franchises who have hit it big during their second year, and this team has all the ingredients to follow the precedent. A lot of the returning players are coming off career years, which could make for unrealisticly high standard.

Just when Travis Anderson thinks about pinching himself, something happens to remind him that the evening of Sept. 29, 2008, was not a dream.

Catcher Travis Anderson is hoisted up on by his teammates after hitting the home run that ended the 2008 Atlantic League postseason. (Agusto Menezes/Staff photographer)

There was the time he was walking through Bridgewater Commons and a police officer called out, “Hey, Mr. Home Run. I was there that night and I just wanted to let you know that was really cool.”

If it’s been too long since such a wake-up call, Anderson can check YouTube, the Somerset Patriots Web site or his wife Tara’s cell phone and watch video proof that his home run in the bottom of the ninth inning did indeed clinch the 2008 Atlantic League Championship.

“There are times where he goes on the Internet,” said Tara Anderson, Travis’ wife, a lifelong Central Jersey resident and an employee at Raritan Valley & Belle Mead Orthodontics, which will sponsor Travis Anderson walkoff home run figurines May 22 at TD Bank Ballpark.

“He knows it really happened, but he’ll say “I can’t believe it happened. Can you believe I really did that?’ “

It was an offseason full of questions like that one for the 29-year-old catcher, who is entering his fourth season with the Patriots and seventh in the Atlantic League.

It’s not as if Anderson is too famous to leave his Flemington home without paparazzi noticing, but his raised profile has required some minor adjustments.

Always satisfied with flying under the radar and deferring to the team, Anderson has embraced the local limelight with no more than a blush to suggest he might be naturally uncomfortable.

“This is such a good moment that I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of it. I love talking about it,” Anderson said. “But I’m not going to brag about it. When somebody asks “How’d you do last year?’ I tell them we won it all. When they find out about the home run, it’s like, “Hey, you never told me about the home run.’ Is that what I’m supposed to tell you? I hit the walkoff home run to end the year.”

That one swing accomplished far more than appears on the surface.

It shed an appreciative light on the career of an unheralded contributor and relieved all of the self-inflicted pressure Patriots manager Sparky Lyle said had been on Anderson’s broad shoulders ever since a disappointing 2006 season.

The previous offseason Anderson was acquired in a trade with the Camden Riversharks to start in the field, but he hit just .248 with 22 extra-base hits in 339 at-bats.

Since then, Anderson has hit .291 with 14 home runs, 72 runs scored and 75 RBI as part of a platoon, but always emitted a tense aura when slumping.

“I think it will be the best thing that ever happened to him,” Lyle said. “He needed that with us to consummate all the other stuff he’s gone through. Maybe he now he won’t try so hard. He was always trying to prove himself and I didn’t think he had anything to prove.”

The other results are less subtle.

Anderson was a guest at many more team functions than in any previous offseason.

He was the first player announced on the 2009 roster, a role traditionally reserved for a returning player who is a face of the franchise.

His popularity as an instructor at Jack Cust Baseball Academy has increased.

“I’ve gotten a lot more acknowledgment from the home run, like I’m better now,” Anderson said. “But that’s fine. It breaks the ice. For everything Somerset and the league has done for me, I feel like I’ve given something back.”

Anderson literally gave back the home run bat, autographing it and leaving it for safe-keeping with the front office staff. Plans are still in the works to display it somewhere on the ballpark concourse.

He tracked down the ball and gave it to his wife and he made sure his mother in California saw a copy of the video.

“He’s just proud that he’s part of Somerset history,” Tara said. “He’s a guy that’s always worked so hard. Of course his goal is to get the major leagues, but how many guys get to hit a home run to win a championship of any kind?”

By RYAN DUNLEAVY
STAFF WRITERAmidst months of forecasts warning of economy-driven doom for sports franchises, a possibly telling indication of what could lie ahead for the Somerset Patriots this season was the crowd outside the box office just before the start of games late last season.

Patriots owner Steve Kalafer, seen here at spring training, is pleased with the way his front office staff is dealing with the challenging economy.

At that time, in the face of a recession, the team generated some of the highest walk-up ticket sales in their history.

The Patriots were founded by owner Steve Kalafer on the belief that independent league baseball, much like the movies, could be an affordable night out for a family.

More than a decade later, that business model is passing its most serious test: Standing up to the ravaged economy.

According to Patriots president and general manager Patrick McVerry, overall ticket (individual, season and group) sales are up about 10 percent and there has been a slight increase in sponsorship revenue compared to the same numbers at this time last year.

“We have to prove our relevancy every season,” Kalafer said. “The Patriots are not looking for charitable sponsorships. We’re looking to increase their revenue. If you want to have a profile, there is no place in Somerset County that has more of your market on any given night than TD Bank Ballpark . . . The reality is the Patriots are recognized as a major force where you have a higher demographic of potential customers.”

Consumers double as baseball fans, and last season more of them filled TD Bank Ballpark on average than ever before.

But as the economy worsened during the winter, matching those record numbers seemed unlikely.

“After last season ended on such a high note, going into the sale season I certainly had my concerns,” McVerry said. “But the everyday response has been surprisingly good in my mind. Our partners are still with us. They see the value and they want to be part of the Somerset Patriots. People are making the decision they aren’t going to spend as freely, but our job is for our sales people to keep it up.”

Baseball has proven to be a draw.

“In times like this, people have always come back to baseball,” said Atlantic League executive director Joe Klein, a former major-league general manager. “Unfortunately I’m old enough to remember a couple of these things – the gas prices in the 70s and the player’s strike in the early 90s – and people come back to baseball. It’s great, affordable family entertainment at the Atlantic League level. It’s an alternative to taking your family to a movie and who would rather be inside a dark theatre than outside watching a baseball game?”

Team officials say prices for all tickets and most concessions at TD Bank Ballpark have remained the same, even in instances where it has meant absorbing some of the squeeze.

“The affordable night out will be the option for businesses and families,” McVerry said. “The big business is keeping the Somerset Patriots tickets and maybe doing away with the big trip, but you still want to take your employees out and show them your appreciation.”

Most Atlantic League players only earn about $2,000 per month, but even they were not treated to the same luxuries as in the past.

According to someone with familiarity with the situation, there was strong encouragement to keep the total sum of player salaries at the same threshold as last season and, if possible, go lower.

The $200-300 raises sometimes offered as a reward to a returning player coming off a strong season became a casualty and a few better free agents were passed over for cheaper alternatives.

“We don’t live in a vacuum,” Kalafer said. “We’ve had very strong budget meetings and business meetings because you have to have contingency plans . . . All we’re looking at more rigidly is our expense structure. There has been no reduction in the service that the fan sees.”

By RYAN DUNLEAVY
STAFF WRITERTim Raines made a living stealing bases, but that had nothing to do with how he earned his way into the Somerset Patriots clubhouse.

Tim Raines, who is back in the Atlantic League as Newark Bears manager, is seen here signing autographs before his first game as a Patriot, July 17, 2000. (Courier News file photo)

Raines was a seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star with a potential Hall of Fame resume in July 2000 when manager Sparky Lyle was approached about him joining the Patriots as a showcase for the U.S. Olympic committee.

His credentials were exactly those that Lyle, who is borderline obsessed with clubhouse chemistry, usually rebuffs for fear of ego.

But one thing Lyle could not get past was Raines’ reputation, and that is how the most famous name ever to play for the Patriots landed a spot inside Lyle’s sanctuary.

“I know his work ethic and how he played the game,” said Lyle, who made a vehement stand against signing two-time American League Most Valuable Player Juan Gonzalez and has turned away other big names. “I knew he would be one of the first ones in here to do his work and he’d do whatever you ask of him. I never had to talk to that guy and say, “Here is what you have to do while you’re here.’ It would have been an insult if I had. He has integrity.”

Raines hit .346 with three extra-base hits during his seven games with the Patriots but failed to make the Olympic roster.

That Atlantic League appetizer wasn’t totally fruitless, however.

He returned to the majors for two more seasons and it paid dividends again this offseason when the 49-year-old former Yankee accepted an offer to manage the Newark Bears and former MLB All-Stars such as Carl Everett, Keith Foulke and Tony Batista.

“I really enjoyed the games that I played because I competed against some really good players, a lot of guys who were looking to get back in the major leagues and a lot of guys who could still play,” Raines said earlier this month. “To me this is better than being in the minor-leagues. This is like being a major-league coach because all these guys have been there once or twice and are aspiring to go back.”

Despite a 23-year major-league career in which he had more success stealing bases (85 percent, 808-for-954) than any premier speedster in history, Raines can relate to adversity, which is epidemic in the Atlantic League.

Lupus, an incurable but containable disease that attacks the body’s defense systems, forced Raines to retire in 1999. It didn’t keep him down long, however, and his next organized game was July 17, 2000, as the Patriots’ starting left fielder.

Raines only added to his esteemed reputation when he donated his paycheck for the brief stint – around $400 – back to to his teammates to be used for a party. That generosity lives on in lore as he is set to become the first person to both play and manage in the Atlantic League.

“Anytime you have major-league players in a league, it’s a good league, and that is one reason I came here,” Raines said. “And, two, it’s close to New York. This is the media capital of the United States, so for me to come here to get back into baseball, this was the perfect for me. The good thing about managing in an independent league is . . . it’s like being in the major leagues because you just deal with your team and deal with your players and you don’t have anyone looking over your shoulder.”

Confidence already abounds in Raines, who has managed in the Washington Nationals farm system and was first base coach for the 2005 World Series champion Chicago White Sox.

Both Lyle and Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, whose son Dustin signed with the Bears, think Raines will excel as a teacher.

“I think it’s one of the things that always concern us as to what kind of situation you’re putting your son in,” Smith said. “Having known Tim for as long as I have and having spent a lot of time with him, I know that he has the personality and the knowledge that it’s only going to help him.”

Raines said he was unaware of the burgeoning Patriots-Bears rivalry but was looking forward to matching wits with Lyle, who he hit 1.000 against in four at-bats as a player.

Trumping that anticipation, however, is Raines’ excitement to manage his son, Tim Raines Jr., who was released by the Chicago White Sox at the end of spring training. Father and son once played side-by-side in the outfield for the Baltimore Orioles.

“The one thing about being here is all of these guys feel like they have a chance to get back to the major leagues and now it’s their time to prove that they can still play at that level,” he said. “It will be the first time I’ve really been able to spend a lot of time with him (Tim Jr.) at the baseball level. I just hope people don’t think I’m going to be like “Oh, that’s my son so . . .’ It’s probably going to be worse for him.”